Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Titre : Girls Education in the High Atlas Mountains : The impact of dar taliba in the High Atlas region of Morocco

Pays/Région : High Atlas Mountains Morocco

Durée : sept. 20 - févr. 25

Référence projet : 2438949
Catégorie : Studentship

Résumé
Through an ethnographic study, I will evaluate the short and long-term impact of dar taliba (girls’ boarding houses) at the individual and community level in the High Atlas region of Morocco to determine whether they are an effective model to support girls’ development in rural zones.

This project is inspired by my experience living in an NGO-run dar taliba in 2019. Although I gained a first-hand insight into their positive impact, I also identified an incongruity between the girls’ level of educational attainment and their lives after leaving. Across the 5 NGO boarding houses, girls achieve an average school pass rate of 90%, compared to the national average of 53%, but few go on to achieve their goals of studying at university or obtaining paid jobs. My hypothesis is that despite the positive impact of dar taliba, issues within the houses, such as the use of fear and violence by authority figures, create barriers that prevent dar taliba from achieving their maximum potential.

The UN SDGs aim to achieve gender equality, particularly in access to education and enrolment rates. In Morocco there is a great disparity in educational access and attainment across urban/rural and gender lines. The number of girls attending school in rural areas is just 26%, while for boys it is 79%. One of the most significant barriers to education in the mountainous High Atlas region is geographic ; schools are too far to travel every day from the remote villages where girls live, and road infrastructure is very poor.

In response to the crisis in rural female education, in 1999 Morocco initiated the Dar Talib programme. Located close to local schools, dar taliba provide board and lodging to students from remote villages, enabling them to access secondary education. Dar taliba are run by both the government and NGO

Lead Research Organisation : University of Oxford

Financement : Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

UK Research and Innovations